OBJECTIVE: To compare Australian pharmacies that did and did not provide a specialized or enhanced compounding service using a framework based on organization theory. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Australia, from August 2006 to January 2007. PARTICIPANTS: 465 pharmacist proprietors and compounding pharmacists. INTERVENTION: Mailed questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Organizational differences between pharmacies providing and not providing compounding as a specialized service. RESULTS: Questionnaires were returned from 271 of a possible 465 (58%) pharmacies. Specialized compounding pharmacies were more likely to interact with a greater variety of prescribers of compounds and be located in a medical center/central business district setting. The majority of differences were found in the pharmacies' organizational configuration. Specialized compounding staff were more likely to have undertaken further training in compounding and to prepare batches of product using specialized equipment and processes. A greater professional service orientation was apparent in specialized compounding pharmacies. CONCLUSION: Organization theory provides a useful framework for understanding specialized compounding in community pharmacies. The organizational characteristics of pharmacies providing a specialized compounding service are different from pharmacies that do not provide a specialized service. Proposed changes to regulation and practice standards are likely to affect the organization of pharmacies. More research is needed to characterize this growing specialty practice, in order to enable effective development and implementation of revised standards being considered internationally.
OBJECTIVE: To compare Australian pharmacies that did and did not provide a specialized or enhanced compounding service using a framework based on organization theory. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Australia, from August 2006 to January 2007. PARTICIPANTS: 465 pharmacist proprietors and compounding pharmacists. INTERVENTION: Mailed questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Organizational differences between pharmacies providing and not providing compounding as a specialized service. RESULTS: Questionnaires were returned from 271 of a possible 465 (58%) pharmacies. Specialized compounding pharmacies were more likely to interact with a greater variety of prescribers of compounds and be located in a medical center/central business district setting. The majority of differences were found in the pharmacies' organizational configuration. Specialized compounding staff were more likely to have undertaken further training in compounding and to prepare batches of product using specialized equipment and processes. A greater professional service orientation was apparent in specialized compounding pharmacies. CONCLUSION: Organization theory provides a useful framework for understanding specialized compounding in community pharmacies. The organizational characteristics of pharmacies providing a specialized compounding service are different from pharmacies that do not provide a specialized service. Proposed changes to regulation and practice standards are likely to affect the organization of pharmacies. More research is needed to characterize this growing specialty practice, in order to enable effective development and implementation of revised standards being considered internationally.